


in bloom

by anythingbutplatonic



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: A lot of flower metaphors, Angst, Child Death, Fluff, Grief, Hurt/Comfort, Husbands, Infant Death, Loss, M/M, Robert is a Dingle dammit, The Language of Flowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 20:31:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20895686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anythingbutplatonic/pseuds/anythingbutplatonic
Summary: Aaron goes to visit Grace on what would be her 1st birthday, and finds that someone else is already there.





	in bloom

The sun was shining, warm enough that Aaron only needed a light jacket over his jumper as he made his way to the graveyard. He’d opted to go alone, leaving his mum and Paddy to themselves for bit, to mark the day in their own way even though they’d done the little tea party the day before. He knew they’d want to spend some quiet time together today, and anyway, if he was honest, he wanted some time alone with his little sister, too. There was a lot on his mind, and he had a lot of things he wanted to tell her.

The way was familiar, and wet grass clung to the bottom of his boots as he picked his way over to where Grace lay resting. Her headstone was directly under one of the brightest patches of sun shining through the trees, making the surface gleam as Aaron approached it.

To his surprise, though, there was someone already there, someone Aaron knew so well that he would have known him with his eyes shut and all his other senses taken away too; Robert. Bundled in a navy winter coat inappropriate for the day’s weather, the sun turning his blond hair golden, he cast a dark shadow across the grass and looked lost in his own little world - he always did these days. Tired, distracted, nervous. Whenever he caught sight of the faraway look in his husband’s eyes, Aaron’s heart squeezed painfully, knowing that he was helpless to take away the worry about the inevitable that plagued him. 

“Hey,” he called softly when he reached him, pressing his hand to his arm and a kiss to his cheek by way of a greeting; Robert’s lips turned up in a small smile as he leaned into it, tinged with an air of mourning that clung to him like dew. “Didn’t think I’d see you here today.” Aaron nodded in the direction of Grace’s headstone. 

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to come,” Robert said, rocking back on his heels. “I knew what today was, and I knew that you and your mum and Paddy would want to do your own thing, but it didn’t feel right not to - come and see her. To say hello.”

Aaron slid his arm through Robert’s, linking them together. “I’m sure she appreciates that you came, y’know. You’re her big brother, too, y’know?”

“And she’s my sister,” Robert replied, swallowing hard. Aaron could feel the lines of tension in his body, the hesitance. “She’s as much my sister-in-law as Liv is, and I just....wanted to see her. Wish her a happy birthday. Your family, Aaron, they’re...” He stopped, steeled himself, took a breath. “You have no idea what they mean to me.”

“Rob...” Aaron started, squeezing Robert closer, wanting him close. “You _are_ part of this family. They’re yours too, have been ever since you drank from that welly and nearly keeled over.”

“There was a _lot_ of ale in that welly,” Robert chuckled at the memory, nudging Aaron’s side affectionately. “Dunno how I stayed standing up.”

“I was there,” Aaron said simply. “I wouldn’t have let ya fall. Even if it would’ve been funny to see in front of everyone.”

“Oh, thanks,” Robert snorted. He turned to the headstone, eyebrows raised. “Hear that, Grace? Your brother would’ve let me fall on my arse in front of everyone we know because he thinks it would’ve been _funny_.”

“Gangin’ up on me, are ya? Charmin’,” Aaron rolled his eyes. “Thought you were my husband.”

“I _am_ your husband,” Robert said. “I just like winding you up occasionally.” 

“Seriously, though, Robert,” Aaron began, rubbing his cheek against his shoulder, “don’t ever think you’re not a part of my family, alright? ‘Cause you are. You’re one of us crazy, off your rocker misfits now.” He smiled, and Robert leaned in to rest his cheek on top of Aaron’s head. “You’ll always belong with me, with us, whatever happens. That’s what us Dingles do. We stick together.”

“Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve it,” Robert mumbled. “I don’t deserve to be Robert Sugden-_Dingle_.”

Aaron pulled away, then, his hands coming to rest on Robert’s waist, his expression serious as he gently turned Robert’s head so that he was looking right at him. “Robert. _Robert_,” he said, his hand coming up to cup his cheek briefly, a faint brush of his thumb across his cheekbone. “You are a Dingle. You _are_. Look at where you are, what you’re doin’! You’re here because it’s my little sister’s birthday, and you wanted to pay your respects. You’ve supported my mum with her second pregnancy, you got Charity and Marlon rootin’ for ya, last year you saved Belle’s and Sam’s _lives. _And you’ve fought to protect your family, Vic and her new baby, and that’s what _Dingles_ do.” Aaron sighed, smiled, his eyes wet. “You’re more like us than you know. You have to believe that.”

“Well, I’m going to prison, aren’t I?” Robert said. “Dingles do that too, last time I checked.”

“Then you’ll know that you’ll have an _army_ of people on the outside just waiting to support ya,” Aaron insisted, “_all_ of us. We’re here for you.” He cast a glance to the gravestone, to Grace. “Grace, too. She’ll keep her eye on ya, till you come home to me.”

“I love you,” Robert whispered earnestly, his eyes shining bright with tears in the autumn sun. “I love you more than you’ll ever know. All of you.”

“Stop it, you’ll start me off, ya muppet,” Aaron said, smacking Robert lightly in the chest and rubbing at his own eyes. “These last few weeks have got ya so _soppy_.”

“Well, it’s been an emotional time,” Robert admitted. “But you got me through it, like you always do.”

Aaron raised himself up onto his tiptoes to press a kiss to his husband’s forehead, squeezing him around the waist for good measure. He looked down, by Robert’s feet, and saw a bouquet of flowers he hadn’t noticed before; half were bright yellow, the other delicate and purple, tied together with green twine. “What are those?”

“Oh!” Robert said, like he’d just remembered they were there. “I, uh - I brought them for Grace.” He bent to pick them up, cradled them in his arms like they were an infant. He fingered the delicate petals daintily. “I got these ones because - well, you’ll think it’s stupid, it probably is, but see these?” He indicated the yellow ones. “They’re marigolds, they’re the flowers that represent October, for the month she was born. They can mean cruelty, and grief, but also sunlight and passion. And these,” he pointed to the smaller, purple ones. “They’re violets. They represent February in flower language and, well, that’s when your mum’s birthday is,” he shrugged. 

Aaron stared, in awe; his eyes widened, his throat burning with the effort of not crying, _again_. “And what do they mean?”

“Faithfulness,” Robert said. “Virtue. Otherwise known as-”

“.....chastity,” Aaron finished on a shaky breath, his gaze huge and transfixed on Robert. He couldn’t get the words out for a moment or two, he was so surprised and so overwhelmed with emotion. “That’s - that’s incredible, Robert, I - you’re wonderful, you know that?”

“I got a matching one for your mum,” Robert said. “I was going to drop it off later, with a card, a birthday card that I signed to be from Seb. You don’t think it’s too much?”

“Too much?” Aaron asked, his voice cracking slightly. “Robert, it’s perfect. It’s kind, and thoughtful, and both mum _and_ Grace will love it, I know they will.”

“It was the only thing I could think of to do,” Robert said. “Chas’s been really good to me, and she deserves this, something special.”

“It _is_ special,” Aaron reassured him. “And so are you. There’s no-one like you, Robert.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Robert asked worriedly. 

Aaron smiled, taking the bouquet from his hands and inhaling deeply, pressing his nose to the petals. “Definitely a good thing from where I’m standin’.”

He paused to lose himself for a moment in the flowers’ scent, before turning to place them carefully on Grace’s grave. “There you go, sis,” he said, touching his fingers to the smooth granite surface. “A present from your _annoyin’_ \- but still very sweet - big brother-in-law.”

Robert copied Aaron’s gesture, lingering a little longer than he had to on the stone. “Happy birthday, Grace.”

“We love you,” Aaron added. He reached for Robert’s hand, linked it tightly with his. “C’mon. Want a cuppa at home? We can go see mum and Paddy afterwards, if ya want.”

“I’d like that,” Robert agreed. He let Aaron lead him out of the graveyard, back onto the familiar main street of the village, back towards home.

When he’d been doing his research, he’d discovered that the flowers for January were snowdrops and carnations. They meant _admiration, hope, love_. They meant _rebirth_. 

Just like he hoped that flowers would bloom on Grace’s grave year after year in her memory, he hoped that his and Aaron’s relationship would continue to return and blossom, maybe not as fiery or as intense as it had once been with the passing of years, but still there, still in the background, still anchoring them together over everything else. It was the one thing he had to hold on to. He hoped it wouldn’t let him down.


End file.
